Has Narendra Modi now created 'disempowered ministers', asks Congress

SummaryCongress today took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his meeting with secretaries of all ministries, seeking to know whether he has now created "disempowered ministers" after dismantling GoMs and EGoMs.

Congress today took potshots at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his meeting with secretaries of all ministries, seeking to know whether he has now created "disempowered ministers" after dismantling GoMs and EGoMs.

As Modi was meeting the secretaries without their ministers, Congress spokesperson Shashi Tharoor had a dig at him for disbanding all GoMs and EGoMs.

"Modi is meeting secretaries without their ministers. After dismantling the Empowered Groups of Ministers, has he created Disempowered Ministers?" he posed the question at the AICC briefing.

At the outset, Tharoor said it is entirely the prerogative of the Prime Minister to hold such meetings and Congress party was not sitting in judgement.

In a separate question about reports saying that 13 "confidential files" went missing from Rail Bhawan in the last days of the UPA regime, he said that the Congress would encourage the government to take whatever action possible to trace the files.

"We have nothing to hide," he said making light of the matter and added that it was normal that files go missing only to be traced later.